假单孢菌碱性木聚糖酶分子活性部位的研究

应用多种化学修饰剂对假单孢菌G6－2产生的碱性木聚糖酶A（XynA)进行了修饰。结果表明，作用于色氨酸和谷氨酸（和／或天冬氨酸（的试剂NBS（N－Bromosuccinimide)和WRK（N－Ethyl-5-phenylisoxazolium-3-sulfonate)可分别使酶活明显降低，百作用与丝氨酸，精氨酸，酪氨酸的试剂对酶活无明显影响。XynA的化学修饰动力学分析表明，每个酶分子中有1个色氨酸残基和1个谷氨酸（或天冬氨酸）残基对酶的活性特别重要。NBS的滴定结果表明，木聚糖的加入使可使1个色氨酸残基被保护，木聚糖对NBS的荧光猝来有22％的保护作用。0．2％的燕麦木聚糖可可阻止NBS树XynA的修饰作用；而即使2％的木聚糖也不能阻止WRK的灭活作用，NBS可使XynA的Km增大4倍，而RK可使其Vmax降低三分之二。这些结果表明，色氨酸和谷氨酸（或天冬氨酸（残基位于XynA的活性部位，且前者位于XynA的底物结合中心，后者位于酶的催化中心；图6表1参14     

海洋假单胞杆菌QD80低温碱性蛋白酶的化学修饰

海洋假单胞杆菌QD80低温碱性蛋白酶(QDAPr)具有良好的低温适应性,且与常见的增稠剂及表面活性剂有良好的配伍性.因此该蛋白酶在日用化学领域,尤其是低温洗涤领域,具有广泛的应用价值.为研究其结构与功能之间的关系,用EDC、PMSF、N-AI、2,3-丁二酮等8种化学修饰剂修饰该低温碱性蛋白酶,然后检测残余酶活力,借以研究酶分子中氨基酸侧链基团与酶活性中心的关系.结果表明,羧基、丝氨酸、ε-氨基、巯基等残基与酶活性无关;而色氨酸、组氨酸、酪氨酸残基侧链的化学修饰引起酶活性的大幅度下降,说明色氨酸、组氨酸、酪氨酸残基是酶活力所必需的基团.精氨酸残基侧链的化学修饰引起酶活性的轻微下降,说明精氨酸对酶活性具有一定贡献,但不处于活性中心.图5表2参18     

麻疯树核糖体失活蛋白(curcin)的化学修饰与其活性的关系

通过无细胞体系蛋白合成抑制活性的测定,结合荧光光谱和圆二色谱技术,对麻疯树核糖体失活蛋白(cur-c in)部分氨基酸残基进行特异性化学修饰,探讨维持curc in活性的必需氨基酸基团及修饰对curc in结构的影响.结果表明,组氨酸和半胱氨酸的修饰对活性没有影响.色氨酸和赖氨酸的修饰使curc in的活性分别下降了50%和100%,表明色氨酸和赖氨酸是维持curc in活性的重要残基.精氨酸修饰导致curc in的抑制活性完全丧失,内源荧光强度下降,最大发射波长发生红移,CD谱发生显著变化;表明精氨酸也是维持curc in活性的必需残基,并且对空间结构影响较大,推测对精氨酸的修饰破坏了精氨酸与其它基团的连接,导致curc in分子结构发生改变,失去和底物结合的能力,因而活性丧失.图3表1参34     

岩豆凝集素的纯化及其分子残基的化学修饰和活性关系

岩豆种子经侵取、硫酸铵分级、ＤＥＡＥ－纤维素离子交换和ＳｅｐｈａｄｅｘＧ－１００分子筛层析，获得ＦＰＬＣ上单一的凝集素样品，对此纯化的凝集素样品用Ｎ－溴代丁二酰亚胺、Ｎ－乙基顺丁烯二酰亚胺、二流苏糖醇，碘乙酸和对氯汞苯甲酸修饰其分子内的色氨酸和巯基．经计算，该凝集素分子内含有４个色氨酸和２４个流基，当色氨酸被修饰后其凝集活性全部丧失，而巯基被修饰后对其凝血活性无任何影响，表明巯基与凝集素分子的凝血活性无关，而色氨酸则是凝集活性所必需的基团．     

川西亚高山冷杉林和白桦林土壤酶活性季节动态

研究了川西亚高山冷杉林和白桦林中与土壤碳氮元素循环有关的土壤脲酶、蛋白酶、转化酶、过氧化氢酶、多酚氧化酶和脱氢酶活性的季节变化规律．结果表明：(1)在两个群落中，腐殖质层(A)中6种土壤酶活性均高于淀积层(B)和母质层(C)中的酶活性；(2)白桦林A层土壤酶活性显著高于冷杉林A层土壤，而C层的脲酶和过氧化氢酶活性以冷杉林明显高于白桦林，但C层的其它4种酶活性没有明显差异；(3)土壤酶活性的高峰期主要出现在温度较高的7、8月份(冷杉林A层土壤中的蛋白酶、过氧化氢酶和脱氢酶，白桦林A层土壤中的蛋白酶、蔗糖酶和脱氢酶)，或是凋落物高峰期的10月份(冷杉林A层土壤中的脲酶、多酚氧化酶和蔗糖酶，白桦林A层土壤中的多酚氧化酶)．可见，不同土壤酶的活性对温度的敏感程度是不一样的，有一些土壤酶的活性(如多酚氧化酶)明显受凋落物动态的影响．图1表2参18     

长期定位施肥田土壤酶活性的动态变化特征

为探讨长期施肥条件下玉米生育期内土壤酶活性的动态变化及其与土壤肥力的关系,该文对北京褐潮土定位试验田第12年的土壤酶以及土壤养分因子进行了测定和分析.结果表明.土壤过氧化氢酶、磷酸酶在玉米拔节期出现活性高峰.土壤脲酶在玉米拔节期及成熟期出现两个活性高峰,土壤蔗糖酶在整个玉米生育期内活性变化幅度较小.长期施肥能明显提高土壤中蔗糖酶、脲酶、磷酸酶活性,其中有机肥与化肥配施对于增加土壤中蔗糖酶、脲酶、磷酸酶活性尤为显著.长期施肥降低土壤中过氧化氢酶活性.并且以NPK配施有机肥处理的土壤过氧化氢酶活性降低幅度最大.土壤酶之问及其与土壤养分因子之间具有明显相关性,其中蔗糖酶、脲酶及磷酸酶与土壤养分各因子均呈显著或极显著正相关,除碱解氮外,过氧化氢酶与其余各养分因子呈显著或极显著负相关.     

酸性红壤施石灰对甘蔗养分状况某些酶活性及生长的影响

研究结果表明．酸性红壤施适量石灰，能改善甘蔗的Ｎ、Ｐ、Ｋ养分状况，提高Ｃａ２＋－ＡＴＰ酶和中性转化酶活性，减缓甘蔗在伸长期Ｃａ２＋－ＡＴＰ酶活性降低的幅度，极显著地促进甘蔗生长。石灰施用量与甘蔗叶片Ｎ、Ｋ含量、Ｃａ２＋－ＡＴＰ酶活性及甘蔗株高里极显著或显著的二次函数曲线相关；与甘蔗叶片含Ｐ量、中性转化酶活性亦呈二次函数曲线相关，但相关性未达显著水平。研究结果还表明，施石灰量不同对甘蔗各生长时期株高的影响很大，施用量为１．２ｔ／ｈｍ２左右时，甘蔗前、中、后期的株高都极显著的高于对照，小于０．４ｔ／ｈｍ２或大于２．０ｔ／ｈｍ２时，甘蔗生长后期的株高与对照差异不显著．     

不同基肥处理对玉米土壤酶活性和球囊霉素相关土壤蛋白的影响

球囊霉素相关土壤蛋白(GRSP)和酶活性对调节土壤中生物化学转换以及保持土壤碳、氮、磷循环起到重要作用,为向土壤养分状况改善及农田可持续利用提供理论依据,选择河西走廊地区沙壤土,研究氮磷钾配施(OF)、单施有机肥(CF)以及氮磷钾与有机肥配施(CF-OF)3种基肥处理对蜡熟期玉米根际、非根际易提取球囊霉素土壤蛋白(e-GRSP)、总球囊霉素土壤蛋白(t-GRSP)、碱性磷酸酶活性(ALP)、芳香氨基酶活性(ARY)、脲酶活性(URE)、过氧化氢酶活性(CAT)和β-氨基葡萄糖苷酶活性(NAG)的影响,以不施基肥(CK)为对照.结果显示,施用有机肥显著增加了玉米根际、非根际土壤e-GRSP含量,提高了根际、非根际土壤ALP、ARY、URE、NAG,而且根际、非根际以及土层之间差异极显著(P0.01),但施肥处理对CAT和t-GRSP影响不明显;相关性分析显示e-GRSP、t-GRSP、土壤酶活性与碱解氮、有机质、全氮之间呈显著或极显著正相关;逐步回归分析表明e-GRSP、t-GRSP与ALP之间呈极显著的线性关系(P0.001).本研究表明在干旱半干旱区沙壤土中基施有机肥能改善与土壤碳、氮、磷循环密切相关的土壤酶活性,提高GRSP含量,从而提高土壤肥力.     

Pb/Zn矿冶区植被恢复地土壤酶的活性特征

对广东韶关铅锌矿冶区植被恢复地的土壤酶活性进行了测定.结果表明,自然植被恢复地(ZR)的脲酶、蛋白酶、过氧化氢酶、蔗糖酶活性高于人工植被恢复地(RG)和无植被覆盖地(GB),其中脲酶、蛋白酶在ZR的活性极显著高于其在RG和GB的活性(P<0.01).脲酶、蛋白酶、过氧化氢酶活性与植被盖度、生物量等特征呈较高相关性.建议用土壤脲酶、蛋白酶活性作为Pb/Zn矿冶区植被自然恢复的指示指标,过氧化氢酶作为参考指标.图1表1参18     

烟草病程相关蛋白PR-1a的三维模型和荧光光谱

利用同源模建和分子动力学模拟方法搭建了烟草病程相关蛋白PR-1a的三维结构，在此基础上预测出PR-1a具有2个可能的活性位点，进一步分析PR-1家族特异保守序列，结果显示位点1的可能性更大．利用蛋白质内源荧光为探针，对分离的重组表达PR-1a蛋白进行了热稳定性研究．低于60℃处理，PR-1a蛋白内源荧光只略微降低；70℃处理30min引起PR-1a蛋白内源荧光明显降低，结果显示，PR-1a中色氨酸残基主要处于蛋白质分子内部，这与三维结构模型预测结果相符．图5参15     

Rapid,recurring, structured survey versus bioblitz for generating biodiversity data and analysis with a multispecies abundance model

A bioblitz inexpensively and quickly generates biodiversity data, but bioblitzes are often conducted with haphazard, unreplicated sampling. Results tend to be taxonomically, geographically, or temporally biased, lack metadata, and consist of lists of observed taxa that do not enable further analyses or correction for imperfect detection. A rapid, recurring, structured survey (RRSS) uses a structured sampling design and temporal and spatial replication to survey randomly selected sites on a conservation property. We participated in a loosely structured bioblitz and a subsequent RRSS at Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve in Springville (St. Clair County), Alabama (USA) to compare observed richness derived from the 2 survey approaches. The RRSS data structure enabled us to fit models that accounted for imperfect detection to estimate abundances, occupancy probabilities, and habitat associations. The loosely structured bioblitz data could not be used in such models. We present a new integrated multispecies abundance model that we applied to avian RRSS data. Our model extension enables estimation for the community, employs data augmentation to estimate the number of undetected species, and incorporates covariates. The RRSS generated a more comprehensive and less biased list of observed taxonomic richness than the loosely structured bioblitz (e.g., 73 vs. 45 bird species and 104 vs. 63 insect families from the RRSS vs. loosely structured bioblitz, respectively). Models fit to the RRSS data identified seasonal patterns in avian community composition and allowed for estimation of habitat–occupancy relationships for insect taxa. The RRSS protocol has potential for broad transferability as a standardized, quick, and inexpensive way to inventory biodiversity and estimate ecological parameters while providing an outreach opportunity.     

Compliance with and ecosystem function of biodiversity offsets in North American and European freshwaters

Land-use change via human development is a major driver of biodiversity loss. To reduce these impacts, billions of dollars are spent on biodiversity offsets. However, studies evaluating offset project effectiveness that examine components such as the overall compliance and function of projects remain rare. We reviewed 577 offsetting projects in freshwater ecosystems that included the metrics project size, type of aquatic system (e.g., wetland and creek), offsetting measure (e.g., enhancement, restoration, and creation), and an assessment of the projects’ compliance and functional success. Project information was obtained from scientific and government databases and gray literature. Despite considerable investment in offsetting projects, crucial problems persisted. Although compliance and function were related to each other, a high level of compliance did not guarantee a high degree of function. However, large projects relative to area had better function than small projects. Function improved when projects targeted productivity or specific ecosystem features and when multiple complementary management targets were in place. Restorative measures were more likely to achieve targets than creating entirely new ecosystems. Altogether the relationships we found highlight specific ecological processes that may help improve offsetting outcomes.     

Representation of the world's biophysical conditions by the global protected area network

Protected areas (PAs) are often implemented without consideration of already existing PAs, which is likely to cause an overrepresentation of certain biophysical conditions. We assessed the representativeness of the current PA network with regard to the world's biophysical conditions to highlight which conditions are underprotected and where these conditions are located. We overlaid terrestrial and marine PAs with information on biophysical conditions (e.g., temperature, precipitation, and elevation) and then quantified the percentage of area covered by the PA network. For 1 variable at a time in the terrestrial realm, high temperature, low precipitation, and medium and very high elevation were underrepresented. For the marine realm, low and medium sea surface temperature (SST), medium and high sea surface salinity (SSS), and the deep sea were underrepresented. Overall, protection was evenly distributed for elevation across the terrestrial realm and SST across the marine realm. For 2 variables at a time, cold and very dry terrestrial environments had mostly low protection, which was also the case for low SST and low and medium SSS across most depths for marine environments. Low protection occurred mostly in the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula for the terrestrial realm and along the Tropic of Capricorn and toward the poles for the marine realm. Although biodiversity measures are of prime importance for the design of PA networks, highlighting biophysical gaps in current PAs adds a frequently overlooked perspective. These gaps may weaken the potential of PAs to conserve biodiversity. Thus, our results may provide useful insights for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to establish a more comprehensive global PA network.     

Quantitative composition of the defensive secretion ofBledius species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae) is adapted to naturally occurring predators

Summary The adaptation of defensive secretions to their target organisms was examined for the abdominal gland secretions ofBledius furcatus, B. spectabilis andB. arenarius. Therefore the target organisms of the secretion of theseBledius species (i.e. their predators) had to be identified. At the collection sites examined these were the earwigLabidura riparia, the antCataglyphis bicolor, the flyLispe candicans, different carabids of the generaPogonus, Dichirotrichus, Dyschirius, Bembidion andCalathus and the wading birdsHaematopus ostralegus andCalidris alba. The secretion of the abdominal glands contains the toxin ptoluquinone dissolved in either-dodecalactone and 1-undecene (B. furcatus andB. spectabilis) or in octanoic acid and octyloctanoate (B. arenarius). The ratio of these solvents is species-specific. Application experiments using some of the natural insect predators (L. riparia, C. bicolor, Pogonus, Di. gustavii, Dyschirius) revealed that these solvent ratios provided a more effective deterrent than other possible ratios. Thus by combining the solvents in certain ratios, the capability of cuticular penetration and therefore the effectiveness of the defensive secretions are adapted to their natural targets.     

Democracy versus development: New urban debates

The politics of development includes subtexts of choice, as underpinned by community consensus (or lack of it), against the larger backdrop of a liberal democracy, with its intricate power structures that influence the choice of concepts and often lead to complicity rather than consent. A dilemma exists between the understanding of field-level practitioners and that of academics, whose understandings of progress differ. Progress can (and often does) imply long-term change across generations whereas development is often more a matter of crisis management and delivering tangible results to end-users. This makes it a bone of contention across political systems, irrespective of local or global dynamics. Development can emerge as a tool to be wielded for power and further political mileage at the expense of progress. Progress cannot be studied as a counterpoint to development as the sense of history is often missing in development interventions. Development tends to be piecemeal as its very logic often stems from the rationale of power. This is not to suggest, however, that development is only about politics; it is definitely more than the politics of everyday life and involves all of civil society that requires its critical and immediate attention. In this sense, it has become a priority for politicians with an underlying agenda designed to out-manouevre dissent and all statements of protest.     

A palaeo-hydrogeological model for arsenic contamination in southern and south-east Asia

An argument is presented in which areas of natural arsenic contamination of modern groundwaters throughout Asia have a common origin. Arsenic originally accumulated in oceanic ferro-manganoan sediments of the eastern Palaeo-Tethys. This was further concentrated through oceanic crustal extinction in what later became the south-east Chinese accreted mineralised terrain. Proto-Himalayan uplift of this area created the palaeo-drainage systems of the Ganges – Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Mekong, and Red Rivers, with consequent headwater erosion of arsenic-rich sediments. Their downstream deposition as immature and easily redistributed Neogene sandstones, silts, and iron-rich clays has created secondary and tertiary reservoirs of adsorbed and authigenic arsenic, from which the current arsenic-rich groundwaters have evolved. Considering river basins within the above palaeo-hydrogeological framework provides a basis for assessing the risk of arsenic in groundwater basins of south and south-eastern Asia.     

A framework to measure the wildness of managed large vertebrate populations

As landscapes continue to fall under human influence through habitat loss and fragmentation, fencing is increasingly being used to mitigate anthropogenic threats and enhance the commercial value of wildlife. Subsequent intensification of management potentially erodes wildness by disembodying populations from landscape-level processes, thereby disconnecting species from natural selection. Tools are needed to measure the degree to which populations of large vertebrate species in formally protected and privately owned wildlife areas are self-sustaining and free to adapt. We devised a framework to measure such wildness based on 6 attributes relating to the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of vertebrates (space, disease and parasite resistance, exposure to predation, exposure to limitations and fluctuations of food and water supply, and reproduction). For each attribute, we set empirical, species-specific thresholds between 5 wildness states based on quantifiable management interventions. We analysed data from 205 private wildlife properties with management objectives spanning ecotourism to consumptive utilization to test the framework on 6 herbivore species representing a range of conservation statuses and commercial values. Wildness scores among species differed significantly, and the proportion of populations identified as wild ranged from 12% to 84%, which indicates the tool detected site-scale differences both among populations of different species and populations of the same species under different management regimes. By quantifying wildness, this framework provides practitioners with standardized measurement units that link biodiversity with the sustainable use of wildlife. Applications include informing species management plans at local scales; standardizing the inclusion of managed populations in red-list assessments; and providing a platform for certification and regulation of wildlife-based economies. Applying this framework may help embed wildness as a normative value in policy and mitigate the shifting baseline of what it means to truly conserve a species.     

Cost‐effective conservation of an endangered frog under uncertainty

How should managers choose among conservation options when resources are scarce and there is uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of actions? Well‐developed tools exist for prioritizing areas for one‐time and binary actions (e.g., protect vs. not protect), but methods for prioritizing incremental or ongoing actions (such as habitat creation and maintenance) remain uncommon. We devised an approach that combines metapopulation viability and cost‐effectiveness analyses to select among alternative conservation actions while accounting for uncertainty. In our study, cost‐effectiveness is the ratio between the benefit of an action and its economic cost, where benefit is the change in metapopulation viability. We applied the approach to the case of the endangered growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis), which is threatened by urban development. We extended a Bayesian model to predict metapopulation viability under 9 urbanization and management scenarios and incorporated the full probability distribution of possible outcomes for each scenario into the cost‐effectiveness analysis. This allowed us to discern between cost‐effective alternatives that were robust to uncertainty and those with a relatively high risk of failure. We found a relatively high risk of extinction following urbanization if the only action was reservation of core habitat; habitat creation actions performed better than enhancement actions; and cost‐effectiveness ranking changed depending on the consideration of uncertainty. Our results suggest that creation and maintenance of wetlands dedicated to L. raniformis is the only cost‐effective action likely to result in a sufficiently low risk of extinction. To our knowledge we are the first study to use Bayesian metapopulation viability analysis to explicitly incorporate parametric and demographic uncertainty into a cost‐effective evaluation of conservation actions. The approach offers guidance to decision makers aiming to achieve cost‐effective conservation under uncertainty.     

Sexual Predators,Energy Development,and Conservation in Greater Yellowstone

Abstract: In the United States, as elsewhere, a growing debate pits national energy policy and homeland security against biological conservation. In rural communities the extraction of fossil fuels is often encouraged because of the employment opportunities it offers, although the concomitant itinerant workforce is often associated with increased wildlife poaching. We explored possible positive and negative factors associated with energy extraction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), an area known for its national parks, intact biological diversity, and some of the New World's longest terrestrial migrations. Specifically, we asked whether counties with different economies—recreation (ski), agrarian (ranching or farming), and energy extractive (petroleum)—differed in healthcare (gauged by the abundance of hospital beds) and in the frequency of sexual predators. The absolute and relative frequency of registered sex offenders grew approximately two to three times faster in areas reliant on energy extraction. Healthcare among counties did not differ. The strong conflation of community dishevel, as reflected by in‐migrant sexual predators, and ecological decay in Greater Yellowstone is consistent with patterns seen in similar systems from Ecuador to northern Canada, where social and environmental disarray exist around energy boomtowns. In our case, that groups (albeit with different aims) mobilized campaigns to help maintain the quality of rural livelihoods by protecting open space is a positive sign that conservation can matter, especially in the face of rampant and poorly executed energy extraction projects. Our findings further suggest that the public and industry need stronger regulatory action to instill greater vigilance when and where social factors and land conversion impact biological systems.     

Comparison of the insecticidal effects of water extracted and intact aromatic plants onAcanthoscelides obtectus,a bruchid beetle pest of kidney beans

Summary Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) is one of the most damaging pests of kidney beans,Phaseolus vulgaris L. worldwide. However, aromatic plants from the families Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae and Poaceae can protect kidney beans by direct or delayed insecticidal effect, through increased adult mortality and inhibition of beetle reproduction (both oviposition and adult emergence). The efficiency of hydrodistillated and intact plants fromThymus vulgaris andT. serpyllum, Mentha piperata, Rosmarinus officinalis, Satureia hortensis, Eucalyptus globulus, Laurus nobilis, Origanum vulgare, andCymbopogon nardus was compared. For both extracts,Origanum vulgare had the best effect. The insecticidal effect was induced by more than the essential oils because no significant difference was noticed between distilled and intact plants extract. Inhibition of reproduction was particularly important. These results suggest that lipidic as well as non lipidic, allelochemicals, such as phenolics, or non-protein amino-acids, or flavonoids may be involved in the toxicity of aromatic plants to this beetle.